The Review
Reviewing a movie is a way of practicing making a general claim, as well as defending that claim with evidence. You’ll need to clearly state your educated, considered, overall opinion of this movie. Then, you’ll need to use evidence (aspects of the movie itself) to back up your overall opinion (your evaluation) of the movie. Your goal is to convince the reader of your essay (your audience) that your evaluation is absolutely, 100% correct.
The Thesis Statement
In this review, you will need to include a thesis statement, ideally close to the start of your review. Your thesis statement for this essay will be rather simple. Rather than staging an argument about the film in its context, you will simply be evaluating the film using global statements. Your thesis should answer this question: What was the overall quality of the movie, and why do you think so? Did it work overall, or was it overall a failure, and why do you think so? You’ll then use your essay to defend this thesis statement, using evidence from the movie to defend it.
The Evidence
To build up your evidence, and your overall opinion, watch the movie at least once (twice or three times is even better). As you watch, take notes around the following major questions: What parts of the movie work? And what parts of the movie do not work? And: why or why not?
To prove your evaluation is fair and true, you’ll need to cite specific aspects of the movie. These might include:
- The quality of the actors’ performances. What worked well in these performances? What did not work well in these performances?
- The quality of the screenwriting (how the movie’s scenes and dialogue are structured and written).
- Spend some time discussing the plot in terms of what works and what does not work. If you simply summarize the plot, you have not done your job as a reviewer. That’s a summary, not a review.
- The soundtrack. Does the music in this movie add to, or take away from, your experience of the action on screen?
- Think a little bit about the context in which the film was made. What year was it released? In what country was it produced? Where was it filmed? Do these things matter to your opinion about the film’s overall quality?
- Is this movie a sequel, or part of a trilogy or larger series? How does this factor into your overall opinion of the film?
- Is there anything interesting, or that works or does not work, in the movie’s “look” or style? In other words, its color palette, shot framing, set design, etc.?
Please note: This list is not exhaustive! You may write about any aspect of the film that interests you, big or small, as long as it backs up your overall evaluation.
REQUIREMENTS AND POINTERS
For your review, you may watch and write about any movie. However, it must be a feature-length film, and it should be something you feel comfortable stating a strong opinion about. N.B.: You can review a documentary if you like, but a fictional feature film might be easier to write about for this assignment. You are NOT allowed to write about a TV show, or episodes of a TV show.
You can choose a movie available on any streaming service, or on DVD/Blu-Ray, or you can choose a movie that’s currently playing in theaters. But be aware: it’s best if you can watch the movie more than once at your leisure, and it helps to be able to pause the movie and view subtitles, so choosing a movie that’s currently playing in theaters is more difficult.
This assignment works best with a movie you have never seen before. You can use a movie you’ve seen already, but your past opinion of this movie might make it more difficult to evaluate than a movie you’re seeing for the first time.
Requirements
- 2-3 pages (minimum 2 full pages, maximum 3 full pages).
- Double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, correct MLA header.
- Please give your essay a unique and relevant title.
- Please be sure to number your pages.
- For this essay, you are required to write and include a thesis statement in a logical place near the beginning of your review.
Due Date Range: Wednesday, October 27 – Tuesday, November 2, 11:59 PM
Part I: Find the Movie
To access Close-Up on Kanopy, follow these steps:
1. Follow this link: https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/kanopy
2. Then, click on the hyperlink that says “You must link to the Kanopy site here from the library site.”
3. This should bring you to a login page. Enter your information, and you should be taken to the Kanopy site.
4. Search on Kanopy: Close-Up (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
* If Kanopy doesn’t work for you, a lower quality version is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjLVCiAtvls.
** If you’re internet savvy, I’m sure you can find it by other means.
*** If you’re still having trouble finding the movie, please email me and I’ll find a way to get it to you.
Part II: “Actively” Watch the Movie
As you watch, take notes on what you feel are the most significant and important components or aspects of the film. For more specific things to keep an eye out for, see both the Essay #2 assignment prompt and the handout under Course Readings titled “Visual Literacy Duke Handout”.https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/kanopy
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